This disclosure relates to a round, block or pillar type candle having a powdered wax interior, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for fabricating such a candle, providing candles which may be scented or colored, and which carry a quality appearance while displaying certain improved burning characteristics.
Top quality candles in the candle making industry are poured in metal or plastic molds and are then allowed to cool slowly. Some candle molds contain manifolds through which cooling liquid may be circulated to speed cooling to some degree, but generally the cooling process is slow to prevent voids in the wax which occur during fast cooling. Depending on candle size, the cooling takes from four to twelve hours, during which time other manual operations must be performed such as refilling with molten wax as the wax solidifies and shrinks in volume, and "poling" which involves opening a bubble which often forms near the top of the mold beneath the exterior surface of the wax. The candle mold is occupied during thie entire period of time.
Candles fabricated in water cooled molds require the use of a mold release and usually have a somewhat opaque look. Translucency is a characteristic associated with a quality candle and is obtained through a slow cooling process. Quality candle fabrication has therefore required much handling by a labor force, considerable time in the candle molds, consequent greater numbers of molds for acceptable production rates, and therefore greater space for production operations.
There is therefore a need for a wax candle having quality characteristics which may be formed in a relatively short period of time in an automated fashion, thereby freeing the labor force from many manual operations, freeing the equipment for recycle in shorter elapsed time, and requiring less production space for considerably higher production rate.